Earlier this month, The Times reported that the draft bill had been scrapped.

A source told the paper that the justice department wished to avoid a fight with the Scottish government, which is opposed to the abolition of the Human Rights Act, and would be focusing its efforts instead on prison reform.

The Justice Secretary, Liz Truss, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme yesterday, however, that this was not the case and that she fully intended to deliver the Conservative manifesto pledge.

Theresa May supports the abolition of the Human Rights Act in favour of a British Bill of Rights (Picture: Getty Images)

‘I’m looking very closely at the details but we have a manifesto commitment to deliver that,’ she said.

Prime Minister Theresa May said in a speech in April that she was strongly in favour of legislation which ‘protects human rights in a way that doesn’t jeapardise national security or bind the hands of parliament.’

‘A true British bill of rights, decided by parliament and amended by parliament, would protect not only the rights set out in the convention, but could include traditional British rights not protected by the ECHR such as the right to trial by jury,’ she said.

She clarified at the same time that there would be ‘no parliamentary majority’ for the withdrawal of the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights.